Senate Committee Approves Tillerson for Secretary of State

President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State moved one step closer to confirmation on Monday when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee narrowly approved the nomination. His final approval will be from the full Senate.

The panel’s vote was 11-10 in favor of President Trump’s pick to be the country’s top diplomat, along party lines, with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats against.

Tillerson’s vote was uncertain up until Monday morning, when Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said he would vote for Tillerson despite his significant reservations regarding his positions on human rights and Russia’s aggression, concerns that Democrats also voiced.

“I concluded that it would not be good for our country to unnecessarily delay or create unwarranted political controversy over this particular nomination,” Rubio said at the Monday meeting.